In recent years, there has been an increased interest in the “back to nature” movement and in enjoying life unencumbered by clothes. Most jurisdictions have regulations against public nudity and this acts as a restraint on those who would like to enjoy life in pretty much the state in which they were born. People will be people and those who would like to swim “in the raw”, so to speak, have two choices if they wish to act unfettered: (a) wear no clothing, or, (b) wear a swimsuit on the beach and take it all off when at a safe distance from any Peeping Toms.
As noted above, option (a) is usually illegal and, in many instances, people are not disposed to so appear in public. There is also the problem of finding a deserted location at which to take off the swimsuit. Facilities for discrete donning and removal of clothing may not exist at beaches and swimming pools. Removing clothing also presents problems in cold and/or windy weather.
Option (b), while aesthetically more appealing to the public at large, presents dangers to the swimmer. Taking the swimsuit off under water requires either bending down or stepping out of the swimsuit and can be dangerous and has the problem of collecting sand and grit inside the swimsuit. There is the additional problem of holding on to the garment once it has been taken off: if both hands are not devoted to the task, there is the risk of losing the swimsuit and the swimmer is back to the situation presented in option (a). Prior art swimsuits also present problems in putting the swimsuit back on. There is difficulty in identifying the proper holes into which legs must go, particularly in active surf. Once back on, any accumulated sand and grit can be very uncomfortable.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,991,920 to Holland, the contents of which are fully incorporated herein by reference, teaches a swimsuit that includes a body and a belt, a portion of the body encircling a portion of the belt to form at least one pouch. The other end of the body has fastening devices that attach them to the belt opposite the pouch to form a conventional-looking swimsuit. Detaching the clips, folding up the body and inserting it into the pouch(es) gives a compact arrangement of a belt with a small pouch attached to it.
One embodiment of the invention of Holland is illustrated in FIG. 1 (Prior Art). As shown, the swimsuit 1 includes a belt 3 adapted to encircle a human waist. The belt defines an inside and an outside. The belt is preferably made of a fabric with some ability to stretch so as to maintain a snug fit with the waist of the person wearing the garment. The swimsuit also includes a body part 4, one end 4a of which defines a pair of pouches (storage compartments) 2 that enclose a portion of the belt. The sides of pouches are maintained in sliding contact with the portion of the belt that they encircle and are provided with openings purpose of which will be discussed below. As shown in FIG. 1, the pouches are separated by a seam 12 in the middle, the seam coupling the body part 4 to the belt 3. An alternated embodiment of the invention has a single pouch extending all the way across the back.
The invention of Holland, while being fully adapted for the function for which it was designed, was found to have some drawbacks. Drawbacks are purely aesthetic. When the swimsuit is fully folded into the pouch surrounding the belt may, it may have a bulky appearance. In addition, when the swimsuit is in the configuration for wear on the beach, it may be difficult to configure the top rear of the suit for a perfect fit.
There is a need for a swimsuit that enables the law abiding swimmer to comply with applicable rules and regulations. Such a swimsuit should allow the swimmer to enter the water discretely clothed. Such a swimsuit should preferably be safe and easy to disengage from the human body. Such a swimsuit should remain attached to the human body without the use of hands. Such a swimsuit should be easy to put back on. In addition, it should preferably be aesthetically appealing in both the engaged and disengaged positions. The swimsuit should also be easy to manufacture. The present invention satisfies this need.